We Love Like Fools
by littlehanyan
Summary: Love is strange. It's something you can't control and it happens when you do not expect it. And sometimes you fall in love with someone you did not expect. But most of all, love makes us act like fools. Because of it we do things we never thought we would. A collection of drabbles about different Gakuen Alice couples that take place in the 18th and 19th century.
1. How I Met Your Mother

The year 1800 was life changing for Kitsuneme. Why, you ask? Because he fell in love for the first time. He hadn't felt anything like this in his twenty six years of life. He knew nothing about her but couldn't get her out of his mind.

It all happened while he was traveling to Bath. He was using a shortcut to get into the city and that's when he saw her. She was running in the meadow playing with a few children. The white dress she was wearing was pretty plain and her blue hair was tied up in a messy ponytail but for some reason that made her look even more charming. Kitsuneme spend a lot of time staring at her, more than it was appropriate. He wanted to go and talk to her and he would have done it if the whole thing wasn't so weird. What could he actually say? Hello, miss. I'm Kitsuneme and have been staring at you for about half an hour. Please, marry me. That wasn't how things were done. And besides he had to meet his friend Kokoroyomi and was really late. He glanced at the girl one last time and rode into the city.

* * *

The good thing about Bath was that you could easily meet a lot of people. After he'd told Koko about the girl in the meadow his friend said he had no idea who she was. However, he promised to take him to the Upper Rooms* where he was hoping they could run into her.

And that they did. Kitsuneme literally ran into her.

He hurried to apologize and when he saw who she was he could swear he was blushing no matter how stupid the thought was. She was wearing a red gown and her hair was tied up in a neat knot with some strands falling around her face. She was gorgeous.

She giggled and curtsied. ''I'm Nonoko Ogasawara.''

''I'm Kitsuneme. It's a pleasure to meet you.''

''The pleasure is entirely mine.''

Kitsuneme saw couples getting ready for a dance a held out his hand to Nonoko. "May I have the next dance?''

''Of course.''

* * *

It was clear for everyone that Kitsuneme and Nonoko fancied each other. They were together all the time and danced only with each other. Nonoko came from quite a wealthy family while Kitsuneme had almost no fortune at all. That's why there were people whispering behind their backs, saying that he was with her only for the money. They couldn't be more wrong. He had fallen in love with her before he even knew her name and ever since then his feelings had continued to grow. He knew she felt the same way and was hoping she would accept his proposal.

One sunny day, when and Nonoko were on a walk in the meadow where he had met her for the first time, he asked her.

''I know we haven't known each other for that long but I love you. Will you marry me?''

Nonoko was tearing up, she couldn't say anything so she just nodded her head. Kitsuneme held her hands and smiled sweetly at her. This was the beginning of their life together.

First he asked for his parents' agreement. They were nice people and wanted only the best for him so when they learned he really loved this girl they had no complaints. As for Nonoko's parents, at first they were a bit reluctant which was understandable because she was their only child. Eventually they grew to really like Kitsuneme and gave him permission to marry their daughter.

They married next fall and went to live in Kitsuneme apartment in London until they could find a better place. He did tell his wife when he had fallen in love with her and they both laughed a lot at how silly that was. It became an amazing _How I met Your Mother_ story to tell their children.

* * *

***The Upper Rooms had opened in 1771. They were 'upper' in the sense of being situated in the higher part of the town. Evening balls were held there four times a week in the season.**

**Coping that right out of the notes of my Northanger Abbey book because I thought some of you may not know what is it.**

**Anyway that story was written a few months ago for the Gakuen Alice Writting Challenge on tumblr but for some reason I never uploaded it. It's the first story of the so called Austen verse. Obviously it's named after Jane Austen because the stories are inspired by her writing. All of the stories take place in the same period and are connected in some way. However, most of them can be read separately.**


	2. We Meet Again

Kokoroyomi had been surprised many times in his life, for example when his parents had gotten him a horse for his tenth birthday or when he'd been accepted into university. However, none of them could even compare to seeing his childhood best friend on the wedding of his current best friend. It was proven to him, yet again, that the world was small.

Her name was Sumire Shouda. They used to live close to each other when they were children and they would always play together. They used to have a lot of fun but he hadn't seen her ever since they moved when he was fifteen. More than ten years had passed since then and meeting her like that was a bit awkward. However, none of them had time to look surprised or feel awkward- he was the best man and she was bridesmaids and both of them had work to do. But Koko knew that he'd have to talk to her after the wedding and he didn't know if he was looking forward to it or not.

* * *

''How do you like the wedding?'' Koko asked.

Sumire looked at Kitsuneme and Nonoko who were dancing slowly, the latter resting her head on the former's shoulder. ''I'm very happy for them.''

''So am I.'''

No one said anything for a while. Koko couldn't find the right words and knowing her, Sumire probably just didn't want to give him the satisfaction. Eventually she sighed and looked at him.

''I didn't expect to see you here though.''

''I was going to say that, actually.''

''Then why didn't you?'' Sumire raised an eyebrow and Koko shrugged. ''How long has it been? Ten years?'''

''Eleven, to be precise.'' Koko stated.

''I see you're still the same smartass.'''

There was no way Kokoroyumi would ever forget the first time he met Sumire Shouda. Before that he had been a gloomy kid and had no friends. She had been his first friend and had changed him for the better. Soon after he met her he befriended many other people but for him Sumire was the one and only, his best friend. That was why he had been very sad when she had to leave. Honestly, he had never expected that to happen, he had thought their friendship would last forever.

But maybe, just maybe, fate had given him a second chance.

''Hey, Sumire, do you want to go horse riding tomorrow?'''

At first she looked a bit taken aback but then she nodded. ''Sure. I have nothing better to do anyway.''

But truth to be told, she would have said yes even if she had and he knew that.

* * *

Both of them had stayed in London with Kitsuneme and Nonoko for quite some time. When it was time for them to leave, they would always come up with reasons to stay. After a while the whole thing became very obvious but their friends didn't mind at all. In fact, they were happy Koko and Sumire were getting along.

However, one day a silent realization hit Koko. It happened suddenly while they were lying on the grass under an apple tree and she was reading out loud. Although he hadn't realized it, he had been staring at her for quite some time and hadn't been listening to a word she was saying. She noticed that, looked up at him and pouted.

''If you aren't listening, there is no point in me reading out loud.''

He shook his head, as if he had been woken up from a trance, and that made her laugh. And it was then, when he saw her beautiful smile, that he realized it- he did not want Sumire to be only his friend. Before they had been only children and had known almost nothing of romance. Now they were adults and he could not stop his feelings for her.

* * *

Kokoroyumi was a man of action and for that reason he did not like waiting at all. He sent his proposal in a letter the next day. He decided on a letter only in order to annoy her. And that it did. He knew exactly when she had read it because a minute after that she yelled his name. Koko burst out laughing and didn't notice her running down the stairs until she reached him and hit him on the shoulder.

''What in the world is that?!'' She glared at him and showed him the letter.

''I think that's pretty obvious- it's a proposal.'' He said matter-of-factly.

That seemed to annoy her even more because she hit him again. ''Is that the right way to propose to a woman? Didn't your parents teach you anything?''

''But proposing in the usual way would have been such a waste. You are so amusing when you're angry.''

Sumire huffed, handed him the letter and left the room. Koko couldn't help but smile when he saw she had written 'yes' on the back.

* * *

**This was written for the Koko/Sumire week on tumblr. I'm not all that happy with the way it turned out, I think it could have been better but at the time I was in a hurry. It takes place right after the previous chapter.**


	3. The Magic of the First Snow

No one knew why Nobara Ibaragi decided to marry Rei Yukihara. She was poor but very pretty and could have had every man she wanted. In fact, she had received three marriage proposals and had declined all of them. Everyone had thought she just did not want to get married so her engagement had been a big surprise.

Rei Yukihara was a very unpleasant person. He was socially awkward, moody and proud. His family was nor poor nor rich. He was handsome but that was all there was to it. No one would marry him just for his good looks, everything else was just so disagreeable. Or so everyone had thought.

Nobara's family hadn't liked her engagement. They had never been too fond of her anyway and had always said that she would only be useful if she married a rich man. When they had found out about her and Rei, they had tried to break them up. However, Nobara had said that he was the only man she would ever marry and nothing could change that. Seeing that it was no use arguing, they had given up but they had also cut all ties with their daughter. Rei hadn't been happy about that, he couldn't help feeling that he was ruining her life. He knew he was, she had her whole life ahead of her and so many opportunities but she was throwing all of this away because of him. But he knew that she would not listen to anything he said, he knew that because he had already brought it up. The answer had always been _'You are the most important person to me. No one else can make me happy'_. He knew it was selfish, but these words made him happy. When he was little, he had always hoped he'd find a person who would stay with him no matter what. With time he had started thinking that such a person did not exist. That is until he met her.

* * *

It happened four years ago. He was traveling to London to take care of some business when he ran into her in the forest. She hadn't noticed him at first, she was looking up the sky at the falling snow. It was the first snow for the year and was falling down gracefully. It was indeed very beautiful but what was more beautiful was the girl herself. She was wearing a red dress and a cloak of the same colour. Her icy-blue hair, that flowed down her shoulders, was covered in snow. Rei couldn't help but stare.

She was reaching out to touch a snowflake when his horse neighed. That obviously startled her and she abruptly turned to look at him. Now Rei could see her face- she had beautiful blue eyes, her skin was very pale and her cheeks flushed. She smiled when she saw him.

''Hello.''

''Umm hello.''

''I don't think I've seen you before. Who might you be?'' She asked.

''I-I'm Rei Yukihara.'' Rei introduced himself. He could feel his cheeks flushing.

''It's very nice to meet you. I'm Nobara Ibaragi.''

''What are you doing alone out of town, Miss Ibaragi?''

''I sneaked out to see the first snow.''

''You sneaked out?''

''Yes. You see, I always go outside when the first snow falls. It's something like a tradition. My parents were never really happy, they thought it was childish but they let me go. However, this year I caught a cold and they didn't even want to hear about it. That's why I sneaked out.''

''Wait, you have a cold? Then you really shouldn't be out in such weather.''

''I'm fine. You really don't have to worry.''

But right after she said that, she felt dizzy and collapsed on the ground. Rei jumped down from his horse and picked her up in his arms. She was unconscious and he had to take her somewhere warm before her cold had gotten worse. He didn't know where she lived so he had to take her to his hotel room. There he left her to the care of the maids because he had a business meeting he really couldn't miss. When he came back, she was still sleeping but he was told her fever was already down. That relieved him though he didn't know why. Rei sat down on a chair next to the bed and decided to read a book.

After a few hours Nobara's eyes fluttered open. She looked around the room and was surprised to find herself in an unknown place. Eventually her eyes found Rei and she blinked at him.

''You are the man I met at the forest today.'' She exclaimed.

Rei put the book down, looked at her and nodded. He was surprised she remembered him.

''Did you carry me here? Thank you very much.''

''There is no need to thank me. You should be more careful, though. What you did was reckless.''

''I know it was. But I really wanted to see the snow.''

''It must be very important to you.''

She nodded her head. ''It is. It's something I've been doing ever since I was small. And besides, my house is so uninviting that I didn't want to stay there.''

Rei wasn't used to strangers telling him such things about them, especially on the first meeting. But there was something about this girl and he listened to everything she had to say.

After that the two of them spent a lot of time together. Horse riding, reading, dancing – they did everything together and never seemed to get bored of each other. Occasionally Rei had to leave the town and Nobara couldn't wait the day of his return. He always returned to her no matter what. Before he always came to that town for work, now he only left it for work. Nobara had stolen his heart on the day they first met and the more Rei got to know her, the more he fell in love with her. And it was the same for Nobara, there had never been anyone who understood her as well as Rei. She knew she could tell him everything and he would never laugh. Every year he would take her somewhere special when the first snow fell and they would spend the whole day together. For the first time in her life she was feeling truly happy. They both were.

And after five years he finally proposed to her and made her the happiest woman on Earth.

* * *

''Do you think they'll like me?''

Nobara had never met Rei's family before and she was nervous. Her heart was beating fast and she was afraid to walk in.

''They'll love you. I'm sure of it.'' Rei held her hand and intertwined their fingers. ''Look, it's snowing.''

Nobara looked up and smiled. She didn't have to worry anymore. The first snow always brought good things.

* * *

**This was written for the Rei/Nobara week on tumblr. I love it, it's my favourite story of the Austen verse so far. Well, Rei and Nobara are my OTP so obviously I put a lot of effort. Anyway, this story takes place before the first two. Rei and Nobara will also appear in the Natsume/Mikan story though I do not know when I will write that. I think their week is supposed to be in November but I really want to write the story sooner so I might do just that. I'll have to update all my other fics first though.**

**And for anyone who's following my other stories, tomorrow I'm going to update Eternity - also known as the story of Rei and Nobara's married life.**


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